Bustard business.

ACCORDING to findings by the Houbara Bustard Commission, the internationally protected migratory bird's population has dropped noticeably in the past three years in Punjab. Each winter, flocks of houbara bustards descend from Central Asia on the deserts and plains of Pakistan, but their population has been diminishing due to excessive hunting carried out largely by dignitaries from the Middle East. In a single 10-day hunting trip, up to 100 birds are allowed to be killed, but this figure is reportedly exceeded frequently. Consequently, the houbara bustard is placed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List. In March, the Lahore High Court had directed the commission to investigate whether the continued hunting of the endangered species was being carried out in a sustainable manner, or if new and stricter conservation policies needed to be initiated to protect their population. For instance, in order to conserve the mountain-dwelling national animal of Pakistan, the markhor, the government issues limited trophy hunting permits each year. Since an outright blanket ban would not prove sustainable, four hunting permits are annually auctioned, and the large sum of money collected is then distributed amongst the local population, with a smaller portion going to the wildlife department. This...